Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Pick & Prediction JANUARY 16th 2025
Preview and Prediction
Both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder have some leeway atop their respective conferences, leaving them at this point at least with few matches that individually impact the standings.
The upcoming game between the two in Oklahoma City, however, will be a different story.
Heading into the matchup, the teams have collectively gone 67-11 this season.
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The Cavaliers are the sole team to defeat the Thunder in the past four weeks, securing a 129-122 win in Cleveland on Jan. 8 to kick off the two-game season series.
Oklahoma City has triumphed in 18 of its last 19 games, not including the NBA Cup final loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in mid-December that does not count towards the regular-season standings.
The Cavaliers have won 17 of their past 19 games, including a comeback victory at Indiana on Tuesday after the Pacers ended Cleveland's 12-game winning streak in the previous two games.
The Thursday game showcases two of the top guards in the league, Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell and Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Mitchell is coming off a 35-point performance against Indiana, his first 30-plus-point scoring output since Dec. 27.
The game also features the highest-scoring offense in the NBA against the league's best defense.
The Cavaliers lead the league with a 121.3 offensive rating points scored per 100 possessions while the Thunder rank sixth at 115.7.
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Oklahoma City leads the league in defensive rating at 102.9, well ahead of the rest of the pack.
Cleveland has a 110.8 defensive rating, tied for eighth.
Mitchell's recent dip in performance included the meeting with the Thunder, when he only scored 11 points on 3-of-16 shooting.
"There are so many factors you can point to," Mitchell recently remarked on the challenge of facing the Thunder. "They have an MVP player in Shai, all-defensive players around him, and a lot of talent over there."
Cleveland has also displayed its depth, with not only Mitchell but also Darius Garland and Evan Mobley proving they can carry the load when necessary.
The trio combined for 81 of the Cavaliers' 127 points against the Pacers.
"They are unique players in this league who can just, you know they just ... make their mark on the game," Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said of Mitchell, Garland, and Mobley.
Oklahoma City went 3-1 on its recent road trip, with the only defeat coming against the Cavaliers in a game that featured 30 lead changes.
Although Mitchell and Garland only made 10 of their 31 field goal attempts in Cleveland, they still put a lot of pressure on the Thunder.
"You have to do (everything) well against them," Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said of Cleveland's backcourt in addition to Jarrett Allen in the paint and shooters like Max Strus on the perimeter. "That's the pressure they put on you."
The Thunder, who have been without 7-footer Chet Holmgren since mid-November, will be further limited in the frontcourt.
Oklahoma City's other 7-footer, Isaiah Hartenstein, strained his left calf on Tuesday in the Thunder's 118-102 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. He will be out for at least the next three games.
Hartenstein has recorded 15 double-doubles in 24 games after missing the first 15 games of the season due to a broken hand.
Cleveland's Ty Jerome, who missed the last two games due to illness, is questionable for the Thursday matchup.